


Tony loves Amanda

by pickyourselfupfred



Series: Fred and Ginger forever [23]
Category: Astaire/Rogers RPF, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-29 17:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3905275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickyourselfupfred/pseuds/pickyourselfupfred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In many of the interviews that Fred and Ginger gave they often referred to the jokes they played on one another. As Carefree was a happy movie for both of them I thought it was about time some of this fun was written down. They worked so hard that it was a necessary release and became a staple of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony loves Amanda

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OldMoviesAreIt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldMoviesAreIt/gifts), [Samantha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samantha/gifts).



The fun just kept coming as the movie progressed. With nearly all the dances filmed they were busy shooting dialogue scenes and boy didn’t a lot of it reduce them to giggles. They were working in the studio then back to Busch Gardens for some final location shoots and practically every evening found them laughing aloud as they ran through lines together. Fred knew she was a good comedic actress but given the opportunity with this script she had really taken the ball and run with it. He, in his turn, relished the chance of being a character who for once wasn’t a dancer.

Shooting kicked off with the first meeting of Amanda and Tony. Sandrich had seemed, finally, to have acknowledged that maybe the two of them would instinctively play off each other and produce class acting without his leaden direction. This gave them the freedom to let themselves go. Fred thought Ginger was on top form as she bamboozled Tony Flagg by taking the offensive in their first meeting as she had been peeved by his comment of ‘dizzy, silly, maladjusted female’. In fact he almost felt quite cowed himself as she snapped back the witty dialogue.

At the conclusion of shooting that day Fred had to grin to himself. Ginger, whom he admired terrifically as an actress, had certainly raised the stakes in the acting department and he was going to have to go all out to keep up with her. The delicious thought ran through his head that the next few weeks would be enormous fun for them both in the studio and back at home.

The very next day proved him right. They would be filming the scene where Amanda describes her dream to Tony. She started the day with a pleasant surprise for him. When she emerged from wardrobe she was wearing a top that took everyone’s eye. She’d designed it herself and it was just for Fred. It was a simple top but with a stunning motif of a heart surrounded by arrows, one of which pierced the heart itself. Fred, the style king, whistled his approval and as usual complimented her on her excellent taste.  
‘Gorgeous top Gin, where did you get the idea?’  
She sighed an elaborate sigh.  
‘Men! Remember in Roberta you had sent me a Valentine, quote, ‘with an arrow piercing the heart and dripping blood’.  
‘Sure’, he said, eyes twinkling at the thought of how they’d enjoyed that movie.  
‘And then we had the best Valentine’s Day ever’.  
‘Oh yeah, we definitely did’.  
‘Well you chump, this is us, hearts, arrows, love and who do you think has pierced mine?’  
He bit his lip and she knew the sign.   
‘What a swell gift for me baby’.  
They both smiled a secret smile. They’d ‘discuss’ this later.

They began with a run through for camera. Fred would be seated at a desk and rifling through papers as she and Bellamy entered his office. As he flicked the papers he found each one interleaved with slices of ham. He resolved to be cool but, catching sight of her sly grin, burst into laughter. No one knew their secret joke and could only wonder what had set Fred off. She moved over to the desk and simply said, ‘Just expressing an opinion of your acting’.  
‘I’ll smack you when we get home’, he whispered back.

With that first joke over they completely the run through easily. The script was amusing and even in rehearsal there were loud chuckles from the crew and Fred knew she was coasting at this point. When they started to film the scene Fred, though sorely tempted to try and crack her up, played strictly by the rules. She was a damned fine actress and she deserved this showcase.

And boy did she go for it. Her description of the dream became more and more hilarious as she went on and when she snarled at him Fred, despite himself, jerked back in surprise. How he kept a straight face he’d never know but when he was out of camera range he gazed at her approvingly like a love struck loon. As she completed telling her dream with the pursuit by the squirrels he was seriously in trouble, his shoulders shaking with the laughter he felt inside which he tried to cover up by making his character seem excited. When cut was called the crew and Fred clapped enthusiastically and he made a deep bow in front of her saying, ‘Honey, that was outstanding’, and winked in delight at her happiness.

He struck back next day with an in-joke of his own. They were filming the scene where Amanda chooses dream inducing foods. Fred had fluffed the first couple of takes, very unlike his normal self and she had grinned at him in a very pitying way. On the third take he was fine and the waiter finally got to hand her the menu. On it Fred had written, ‘If you want to dream of me try the bolognaise sauce’. It stopped her in her tracks and she flustered. Giving him her scary look she said, ‘Sorry, just lost it for a second. Whatever’s wrong with Mr Astaire I seem to be catching it’. And she administered a sharp kick to his ankle under the table.  
‘Ouch’, he smiled in reply.

There were a lot more jokes and good humour during the studio set ups and when they moved to location shoots in Busch Gardens she happily informed him that she was leading at least 10 to 8 in the practical jokes stakes. They were also very pleased to be on location again, anything was preferable to a stuffy studio. Apart from the skeet shooting scenes they’d also be doing the bike ride and this, Fred thought, would provide an opportunity to even the score a little. It would be easy he decided. They were both used to riding bikes, often using them around the studio lot, but in this case they would be riding slowly and up a slight gradient. Unnoticed he managed to let some of the air out of her bicycle’s tires. As they all set off for the camera rehearsals he was smugly satisfied to see her struggling to pedal and keep her balance.  
‘Problems Gin?’, he asked innocently.  
‘No, it’s just hard going on this bike’.  
This went on for a few more run throughs and she was now bright red with the effort. She climbed off the bike and saw Fred’s broad grin and twigged what was going on.  
‘What have you done?’  
He pointed to the tires. Her left eyebrow arched. She shouted at the assistant director, ‘Hey Joe, could you pump up these tires. Fred’s just noticed they’re a little flat’.  
She left her bike with him and strolled over to Fred who said naughtily, ‘ I thought you looked a tad tired’.  
‘Nice one sneaky’.  
He chuckled as she walked away again. Those lovely legs of hers were really shown to advantage in the tight shorts she wore. He scurried over to Sandrich.  
‘Miss Rogers had a hard time there. What say we take a break and let her rest?’  
Sandrich nodded yes and called, ‘Take ten’.  
She had slumped down in her chair and he joined her alongside, grinning impishly. He picked up his script and began to scribble something. He passed it across to her. He had drawn a heart and arrow with the words Fred loves Ginger inside it.  
‘Truce’, he said, smiling across at her.  
‘Truce’, she replied and extended her hand for him to shake. He squeezed it tightly. He loved being in love with her.

The last day of the shoot completed the bike sequence. They had doubles standing in for them for long shots and the final bike crash but they also did a lot of the riding themselves, thoroughly enjoying it like two kids racing in the park. After the doubles had completed their work Fred and Ginger returned to complete the scene and although they had called a truce there was one more joke on them to come.

As Amanda she had to rush to Tony after he had crashed his bike. As she knelt by him and comforted him a duck in the water behind chose that moment to voice a very loud ‘Quack, Quack’. They looked at each other and erupted into hysterical laughter.  
‘Critic’, he spluttered after Sandrich called cut.

Later that evening as they sat cuddled together after dinner Ginger kissed him and said, ‘I don’t want this movie to end. We’ve had a ball’.  
He smiled, ‘Me too’.  
And it was true. The script, the getting back together and the fun they’d enjoyed had given them both a genuine high.  
‘And oh, I’ve got one more heck of a surprise coming up for you baby’.  
‘I thought we’d called a truce’.  
‘Not a joke honey – just something I think you’ll like’.  
‘If you say I’ll like it, I’ll like it’.  
Fred pulled her closer.  
‘I think you’ll more than like it……just’, he kissed her, ‘you’, he kissed her again, ‘ wait’.


End file.
